Green, green grass
	Short update tonight as I'm kinda tired from all my travels. Well, I'm back from London now, and hopefully service will resume as normal from tomorrow. For tonight, I'm going through the multitude of webpage changes (WSW reports that nearly all of the monitored pages have changed). Plus, I'm slap-bang in the middle of downloading my (get this)... 609 emails! Of coz, it's the fault of all those mailing-lists, but I have to get it all to get the wheat from the chaff. Or to put it another way, to get the good stuff outta the crap! So, I'll leave the proper updates 'til tomorrow night, when I'll be a little more relaxed.
	[icabod] - 04/09/2000 @864

	Wahaay! Result!
	Just a quick update today, for two reasons. I'm sitting in a cyber-cafe in London, and I much rather use my setup at home (hey, beggers can't be choosers, I s'pose). And also you probably already have the following information anyhoo. It's... the ZX Party 2000 results. Yeah, I know they were posted on X-Agon's board already, and Yerz has sent them out. I'm falling a bit behind due to much travelling and copious amounts of alcohol. But here's the full results (only coz I'm not in the top 3 :[): Demos 1 - Popierdolone Demo / Hellboj+Factor6 2 - Zabhmo / Plonba Inc 3 - Power of Love / Denis Of Cassiopeia 4 - Sputnik / Sputnik 1k Intros 1 - Quattro Formaggio / Gasman/Raww Arse 2 - Digit / Baze/3SC 3 - SS ZX Party Intro / Zeroteam 4 - Octopussy / ZeroTeam 5 - K-22 / icabod/Raww Arse (whoop!) 6 - Knedlo Wepro Memorial / Hellboj/H-Prg 7 - Fuckers / WoMo Team Music 1 - Vodka / Yerzmyey/H-Prg 2 - Reinvent / Gasman/Raww Arse 3 - U are Adult / TDM/K3L 4 - Moon Patrol / Factor6/K3L 5 - Anally Funked / LaesQ/Raww Arse 6 - Coralgol / X-Agon/Phantasy 7 - Second Life / Arcadiy Gobuzov 8 - Desire / Arcadiy Gobuzov Graphics 1 - Grass / Hannah/Crazytronic 2 - TV / Yerzmyey/H-Prg 3 - grun / Hannah/Crazytronic 4 - Argh! / Relict/Phantasy 5 - Sputnik / Habib/Sputnik 6 - Exin / Exin 7 - Nat / NaTrent/Sputnik 8 - Nie bedzie jutra / DJ Cube/TGTE So there ya go. I'll do a proper report on the party when I get a chance, but until then, remember this... there was a conspiracy! K-22 deserved to win <g>. Seriously, the party was kewl, the people were kewl, and the productions were kewl. Looking forward to next year!
	[icabod] - 01/09/2000 @600

	Massive Hair Injury
	Yes it's true, everyone here at ZX-Party has massive hair, with the exception of, uhm... well, about 5 of us. Hehe. So here it is kids, a live update from the partyplace. The competitions finished about an hour ago, with a total of 4 demos, 7 intros, and 8 each of graphics and music. Sweet, the party has been a success so far... we just have large amounts of vodka to consume before we can come home <g> The results aren't through yet, but I can safely say that my intro should have won (hehe... of coz, the competition is/was too good for that to happen). All productions will soon be available from the fantastische Demotopia (now apparently working again). I'd put them up here, but I want you all to eagerly await the work... and I just like being cruel ;] That's it for now. The results will be here when I find them (possibly in a couple hours time). I must now continue drinking with [insert standard greetings list from demo]. The night is still young.
	[icabod] - 27/08/2000 @000

	See'ya in September
	Just a quick note tonight to say that this page may seem a little quiet in the coming couple weeks. Why? Well, I'm leaving for sunnier climates... namely Poland, and the upcoming ZX Party. There's a chance I'll be able to do a couple updates while I'm out there, so all is not lost. Indeed, I may even be able to sneak in some "live reporting" from the partyplace. At the moment, there's no sign of the official results from CC000, but I'll entrust you to pop over there daily and do some checking yourself. Until I return there's some additions to Demotopia to keep you amused, namely more TRD-to-TAP conversions from CC000 and a couple other productions. Demotopia will probably be in the same boat as raww.org while me and Gasman are in Poland, but keep checking back... you never know when we may sneak away and write some HTML <g> Have a good time, I know I will.
	[icabod] - 22/08/2000 @870

	A Party Spectacular
	A couple bits of news today, all party related. In fact it's, to some extent, all related to the just-finished CC000. To start with, here's what you've all been waiting for, some results. I should point out first that these are quoted as being "PreResults". I guess this simply means that they could be wrong (which would really annoy the winners <g>): 512bytes intro compo 1 - Kishkoid 2 - Matrix - Extreme 3 - ................. 4K intro compo 1 - Smile - Sage Group 2 - Road - Ivan Roshin 3 - Dwish - Serzh demo compo 1 - T-Dream - Brainwave 2 - Dogma - Eternity Industry 3 - RiZC - Extreme As usual, I've just given out the top 3 in each compo, you can grab the full results from the official page when it's been updated. (This policy of mine will of coz change when I lose badly in the ZX Party intro compo <g>)Also remember that these may not be the final results! You can now grab some .TAP versions of the releases (not all of them yet, mind you), over at Demotopia, along with a couple other additions to the archive. (note the change in URL for Demotopia. This should be temporary until Gasman has a chance to sort out the little problems with demo.eu.org). There's also been some chatter on X-Agon's board relating to one of my earlier posts, about the number of parties held. I'll save you the details, but feel free to go along and say your piece. You never know, you could have an effect on shaping the scene! That's all for now. 'Nite.
	[icabod] - 21/08/2000 @985

	Chaotic Demos
	Spotted a post on both X-Agon's board (from UnBEL!EVER) and on the ZX-Spectrum mailing list (from Mac Buster) that the first batch of releases from this weekends CC000 have been shoved onto an ftp site. They're in TRDOS format, so you'll need a TRD-compatible system to view them. I watched the released demos on RealSpectrum in Pentagon-mode, and they all ran quite well, tho' the graphics failed to load correctly (but that could have been my fault). I'm not going to comment on the productions themselves, as I wouldn't want to cloud your view of them before you see them. You can grab all releases from zx-museum.org.ru.
	[icabod] - 20/08/2000 @725

	Where did it went?
	Spotted a post on X-Agon's message board from Mr. Bob of Crazytronic. On their homepage, you can find photos from the Kaplicon 2000 demoparty. It's only now that I've found a link to the party, so apologies for the late news. I haven't noticed any results from this party yet, assuming that there were any competitions, but I'll keep you posted when I see something.
	[icabod] - 17/08/2000 @945

	A Big Debate (ahem)
	You can't believe how difficult it was to use that headline. But this is a family show, and kids might be watching. Over on X-Agon's message board there's been a couple posts about the support for the two upcoming demo parties, CC 000 and ZX-Party 2000. As UnBEL!EVER puts it, "all of non ex-USSR sceners make they choice this year - ZX PARTY. Well, and in Russia as a tradition we have a great demoparty Chaos Constructions'2000." I would add to the comments, but as news has been slow this week, I'll put something up here. It does seem that UnBEL!EVER is right, and I'm worried that this may just enhance the idea of two separate scenes. It's not a good thing, especially as the scene tends to be "shrinking" (hey, Speccies aren't exactly a new science). I've chosen this year to go to ZX-Party, not as a put-down to CC000. Far from it, it's the party I'd really like to visit, probably the biggest on the Spectrum scene. ZX-Party was chosen partly after the toss of a coin, and partly because I'll get to meet the only member of Raww Arse I've not yet met. My plan was to support both parties, writing intro's for both. Unfortunately due to my hectic work schedule and, frankly, my bone-idle laziness, I've not had a chance to write an intro for CC000. Instead I concentrated on my intro for ZX-Party (which still isn't finished, can you believe). Anyway, what's the point of all this. Well, frankly it's to fill up some space. (heh, and you expected something deep? it's nearly midnight!!) I think there are perhaps too many parties on the scene... everyone wants a demparty in their country (I'd love to have one in the UK), but this makes support for the various parties weak. Had CC000 and ZX-Party been more than a week apart (perhaps a couple months), I would have done work for both. Perhaps two or three parties, spread evenly through the year, would be better for the scene. Hell, I don't know, I'm getting tired, and forgetting what my original point was going to be. So I'll stop here, and let you wonder what I'm actually on. Finally, I'd like to wish all at CC000 the best. Hope it's a fine party, and I'll see you all at CC001... I've got a long time to prepare, and to buy my ticket. As for ZX-Party, I hope to see you all there in about 10 days time.
	[icabod] - 16/08/2000 @985

	Long time, no see
	Blimey, an update has popped up on the homepage of SpeccyAL. It's basically a status update of the project, with news that Simon Owen is to join the project, at least to bring the emulator up to a final version 0.75.
	[icabod] - 16/08/2000 @960

	S'pose a FAQs outta the question!?
	There's been an update to the CSS FAQ. If you've not visited the FAQ before, I suggest you do so, as it contains a wealth of information, both technical and otherwise. Updates this time around are, among other things, changes to the Emulators page (updated information, and splitting the PC section into Windows and DOS), updated resources, and clarified information on the 128k "second screen". There's also a new section, titled "Peripheral Ports", covering the port I/Os of various bits of Speccy hardware. What's the use of this? Well, as Philip Kendall puts it: " When an port is read from or written to, it will activate a number of devices external to the Z80, depending on the port address. In general, devices respond if certain bits in the binary representation port number are set and/or reset, rather than to a specific port number; this is known as `partial decoding'. Whilst this makes the decoding hardware easier to make, it does mean that a considerable amount of congestion has occured in the space available for new peripherals to respond to if they do not wish to clash with any current devices. " Basically, it's of use to anyone planning on releasing a "bit-o-kit" for the Spectrum. The list is far from exhaustive, but it provides a good introduction, and I'm sure the list will be seriously "fleshed-out" in the next couple updates. So, go check out these latest updates, and get your arse "in the know".
	[icabod] - 12/08/2000 @765

	Room for a Phat one?
	Mebbe shoulda saved that headline 'til next year, but it's here now. Raver and Egons of Phantasy have been "spreading the word" of a load of new information about the upcoming Phat0 party, including a brand-new, rather sharply designed website, too. Of most importance is the news that the date has been set to September 22nd. The party is taking place in Karosta, in the City of Liepaja, over in sunny (!?) Latvia. As well as the planned competitions (Chipmusic, Graphics, Intros and Demos), live bands and deejays will be there. Sounds like a blast! Wish I could go, but if I don't turn up at work, I don't get paid!!! Phat0 is for all 8-bit machines, with Speccy and C64 probably taking preference.
	[icabod] - 12/08/2000 @755

	Carpenters apply here
	Looks like the team behind the Doors2k system for Spectrums are looking for member. The post on speccy.scenews is all in Russian, but if you're interested, the post from Minisoft suggests contacting him.
	[icabod] - 12/08/2000 @740

	Out of Chaos comes Order
	Or is that the other way around? Hmm, i was never any good with Chaos-Theory, so it's just as well that Random is. He sent me this important mail about the forthcoming CC000: " the party place for the CC000 has been changed due to overwhelming number of registered visitors. we're planning to accomodate about 400 sceners. there was no way they could have fit into the old school, so there you go - the new address: kinoteatr voshod, ulitza Pogranichnika Garkavogo, dom 22, korpus 1. best way to get there is to catch a taxi (184-T) from Prospect Veteranov subway station. " Wow, 400 Sceners!! Now I really wish I was able to go, but I'm currently wondering if I'll get my passport in time for even ZX-Party (don't worry, I will have it by then). Chaos Constructions is definately on my calendar for next year. As a little side-note, according to my sources (which could always be wrong, of course) Kaplicon should have finished, but I've never seen a website for the party, so results are thin-on-the-ground. For all I know, it may never have even happened! Also, Assembly 2000 has finished, but I don't think anyone was expecting there to be Speccy results from this party anyway. There were rumours of a Speccy-showcase, but no confirmation as to whether this happened or not. You can check out the details here.
	[icabod] - 10/08/2000 @945

	Dreamers of dreams
	Spotted over on WOS that Sergey Bulba's AY Emulator for Windows has had a version hike, all the way up to 1.5. I checked out the accompanying help-file, and here's a few highlights. New Interface Playlists are supported (sweet) SQ-Tracker modules are now supported Multi-file tune-search Noise Generator improved So there ya go. Have fun.
	[icabod] - 09/08/2000 @980

	Erm...
	Okay, three bits of news today, but I'm tired, so it's time for a Blah! The SEMulator has had another couple updates since I last mentioned it, mainly fixing a crash under Windows 9x. This brings the version number up to 0.32. Speccy4Ever has been updated in the ROM department, with new ATM Turbo 2 ROMs, and version 6.06 and 6.08 of the TRDOS Profi ROMs. [still no MB02 ROMs, though] Lastly, there's been an update over at the home of demogroup K3L. Currently I'm not too certain what the change is (I only have WSW monitoring the front page, and I don't have time to go hunting around right now). If anyone feels like enlightening me... There ya go. I'm off to bed.
	[icabod] - 08/08/2000 @975

	Finally somone listens...
	LaesQ has just posted an update to his site, Raww Arse Archive. And it seems he was listening to me when I commented on the ROMsites out there. (heh, he'd have trouble ignoring me anyway). Pop on over there and check out two new sections. One is a ROM-archive, with thousands (well, about 70-or-so) of ROMs to download. Included here are the official ROMs for the MB02, the disk-interface for the Speccy (mine should be here in a few days!). This is nicely complemented by a dedicated MB02 section. Currently you can grab from this section some Boot software, the User-guide, and the Tech Manual. If you plan writing addon ROMs for this neat bit-o-kit, this can prove invaluable. Go check it today!
	[icabod] - 06/08/2000 @810

	Quiet, like a baseball bat
	Hmm. Spotted over at the home of Z80 Stealth that a new version is out. This appears to be a minor bugfix release, focusing on z80 emulation. The problems occur using the ZXZip tools, and any future problems like this should now be sorted. You can grab v0.305 from this link.
	[icabod] - 06/08/2000 @610

	Who's the Phat bird?
	Hehe. Got a mailshot from Yerzmyey last night about the upcoming demoparty, Phat0. It's basically some details from the main organiser, Raver of Phantasy. Most of the details we already know, but the specifics have been cut down to a September date. You can read the full details here. I should point out that I can't seem to get to the main Phantasy site, so I've included a link to a site that does work above. But... there's hardly any more info on there. Ho-hum. Mail Raver with any queries.
	[icabod] - 04/08/2000 @875

	Mmm, cappucino.
	Well, like a complete divot, I set my webchecker to point to the wrong damned page when monitoring the news for CAFe 2000, but luckily it didn't really matter as the results came out with not a single Spectrum production. You can go to the official site here or pop over to Demotopia, where Gasman has them. Oh, and I've fixed the links... just in case.
	[icabod] - 04/08/2000 @865

	More graphics
	In the last hour-or-so, Martijn has put an update on WOS, with the highlight for me being the release of v1.50 of BMP2SCR. This handy tool converts full-colour Bitmap images into our beloved .SCR format, and even handles attributes. It's a must for winning graphics compos at parties <g>. Seriously, it's an excellent little program, and should fit neatly into the corner of any Spectrum-users toolbox.
	[icabod] - 02/08/2000 @900

	VGA for Spectrum
	Noticed this post on CSS from FBI over at Sintech: " We are at the moment working on a VGA-Interface for Spectrum, that converts the RGB-Signal from 128k to a PC-VGA monitor. We know, something like that is already on the market for 100 $ or so, but we want to produce it for half of that price. If anyone is interested to buy it, please contact us, so we can see, whether there is a demand or not. " Well, I'm certainly interested in it... I have an old 14-incher (oo-er) just lying around, and this'll mean I can put it to good use. If you're interested in the convertor, send an email to FBI (Thomas Eberle), and check out the Sintech site too.
	[icabod] - 02/08/2000 @895

	Finally, an update!
	Hehe. Just popped over to WWR, the home of RealSpectrum, the (IMHO) best Spectrum emulator out there. No, there's not a new version, but there's an update about the status of the project. Not many details are given about the forthcoming Beta7, although it's mentioned that emulation of the IF1 is added, along with custom-ROM support, saving and loading of memory blocks (as in X128), and the usual bug-fixes. However, more exciting from my point-of-view is the announcement of a Windows port. The development of this will begin after the release of Beta7, and will continue "in parallel with the global development of the emulator, meaning that more DOS versions may be released until the Windows version is ready for the street." It is mentioned that once the port is complete, the DOS version will be dropped from production. Well you know what this means... we will be able to develop software for the Spectrum, and test it on a decent emulator without the monitor clunking as the resolution changes! Sweet :]
	[icabod] - 02/08/2000 @890

	Solid Gone
	Spotted this rather sad post over on X-Agons Message Board from Yerzmyey, fellow member of Raww Arse, and of Hooy Program: " HABIB is no longer in H-PRG... I enjoyed his works. But it was his decision. " Habib, in case you didn't realise, also did some of the portraits in the Personnel section of this site. Hopefully he'll still be around to do more graphics when we need them... if we ask politely, of coz <g>
	[icabod] - 01/08/2000 @835

	It's My party...
	Couple bits of party-news in here, but alas nothing major yet. The results of 2-Alternative have been released, and there's not a Spectrum in sight. You can check out the results, but they probably won't interest you too much. CAFe 2000 has finished, but as of yet there's no results on the party-page. And like a complete gimp, I actually failed to notice that Demo 2000 was delayed until next year (presumably to be called Demo 2001). I've removed it from the calendar for now, and I'll replace it nearer the time.
	[icabod] - 01/08/2000 @830

	Beer, m'dear?!
	Got a mail late last night from Pol of Phantasy that he's updated the BeerEver 2e3 page. Several scans have been added, including info-notices, bartabs, and some packing info from Zilog.
	[icabod] - 01/08/2000 @820

	Zero Technologies?
	Mike of ZeroTeam fired off a note that the ZeroTeam website has been updated. If you've not been here before, it takes the novel approach of being a text-only webpage. Heh, I just wonder when they'll give in and release a heavily flashed page :] Anyway, you'll doubtless want to know what's changed, but it's all detailed on the mainpage. One thing I did notice was a project of Faster^TNL. Named High Technologies (note the site isn't working yet), it's essentially planned to be a source-archive for the ZX Spectrum. Think along the lines of SourceForge, but Speccy-based. Graphics-routines, Music-players, math-code... you get the idea. Add to that documentation on hardware, history, etc, and you end up with a top-notch site. Now we just have to wait for the site to appear! Until then you can download some information from the ZeroTeam website, in the messages section.
	[icabod] - 30/07/2000 @980

	Diagramatically...
	There's been an update on DB's Speccy4Ever site, this time adding a whole new section, titled "Built In Speccy". Here you can find various texts and diagrams for Speccy "things". Included in the list so far are details of Joystick interfaces, and the classic ACB-Stereo diagram, along with a couple links to other projects.
	[icabod] - 30/07/2000 @965

	PROFessional ROMsite
	Davide Barlotti has certainly been busy. The latest update to Speccy4Ever's ROMpage is a bunch of 16 (16!) ROMs, all for the same thing! Okay there's more to it than that, but it's a heap of stuff to download. The ROMs can be found in the Scorpion section of the page. Right, that's that done. I'm tired, and I'm going to be away for the weekend, so I'll see ya next week.
	[icabod] - 27/07/2000 @990

	I know Kung-Fu
	Not quite demo-related, but I liked the film, so I think it deserves a mention. There was a post on speccy.scenews that Fenomen are to release a Spectrum game based on the film "The Matrix". I'll leave you to read the post yourselves... so go do it. On a side-note, I have the "Matrix-phone"... again, not even Speccy-related, but it's sooo kewl ;]
	[icabod] - 27/07/2000 @985

	AY?
	Heard from bcass that he's made an update over at Project-AY. According to WOS, where the news was also reported, there are 118 new game-tunes, and 8 new demotunes.
	[icabod] - 27/07/2000 @980

	Ultimate SpectROM
	There's been an update of the ROMs over at Speccy4Ever. Here's what the new additions are: Opus Discovery 2.1 Quick Commander 2.6 Plus3e EIDE interface ROM Plus4 48k ROM (you can figure this one out for yourself) ProfROM (for Scorpion) General Sound 1.04 (for Scorpion) Also, there's the addition of screenshots for some of the ROMs, a useful feature for playing "Spot That ROM". Seriously, it can help with identifying ROMs, or can just be interesting for the curious/seriously geeky (you can guess which one I am <g>). Thanks to Davide Barlotti for the news.
	[icabod] - 25/07/2000 @935

	Die! Die! Die!
	Missed a couple new posts at Demo or Die, so I'll mention them both now: Recursive Plasma by Wolf of Scene Team - This basically covers the code for creating Plasma effects, but it's all written in C for the PeeCee (natch). Could be useful for reference, tho'. Advice by Mongol of The Legacy - This looks a bit more useful, covering the code to produce quick, efficient SQRT functions. I've not checked the code thoroughly, but tables seems the way to go. Demo or Die looks like becoming a very useful resource for demomakers and demoviewers alike. Keep an eye on this one.
	[icabod] - 23/07/2000 @605

	The ceremony is about to begin
	For those who're wondering about the headline, it's a quote from The Doors (as used in the PeeCee demo Verses by Electro Motive Force). And it's strangely appropriate, as I spotted a post on X-Agons Message Board from Minisoft. He's pointing people to the download of the latest version of Doors, the filesystem for the Spectrum. But more importantly, he mentioned that the Doors website will soon be relocated at http://d2k.boom.ru/. So there's a site to watch out for.
	[icabod] - 23/07/2000 @600

	Disco Inferno
	On Friday, unbel!ever^x7m submitted a post to speccy.scenews about a new Spectrum e-zine names Inferno. Issue #1 should be out around now, and you can go grab it from http://www.zx.ru/zs/. I don't have much info on the zine at the moment, but it's likely to be a BornDead-style affair.
	[icabod] - 23/07/2000 @590

	All Change
	Whoah, just checked the latest update to the ZX Spectrum SE, and the changes seem pretty-damned big. Here's a few of the major alterations to the spec: The +2 circuit-board has gone, to be replaced by a brand new design. The SE is now to be a dual-processor system, with both Z80's running at 21MHz, droppable to 3.5MHz for compatibility. Memory capacity has shot up to 32Mb from 256Kb. Most of this is to be used as a RAMdisk. Storage has been added in the form of CD-ROM and HD. But tape support has gone out-the-window along with disk support. Instead, images will be used, much like in emulators. There's a heap more changes, so check the page. The SE (codenamed Chloe) is looking less-and-less like a traditional Spectrum, but I guess that's partly the point. However, from the start (or at least from when I noticed the project), I'd always considered backwards compatibility to be one of the major features. Looking at the new specifications, it seems we could be in danger of losing this. I suppose it remains to be seen how it'll finally turn out.
	[icabod] - 21/07/2000 @980

	See?CC000
	There's a note from Random on speccy.scenews (you know where that is) about the forthcoming uber-party, Chaos Constructions 000. The currently confirmed attendance figure is at a binary-friendly 128 people, meaning it should be jam-packed with Spectrum-Sceners. Alas, I won't be there, but I certainly plan to make it to CC001 next time around. So, why won't I be there? Simply because the week after, I'll be in Poland, getting Vodka'd-up with Yerzmyey at ZX-Party 2000. I'm even in the process of writing an intro to compete (and likely lose). However, if you can make it to CC000, do so. It's probably the biggest demoparty for our humble machine, and worth the effort, I'm sure. Next year... next year!
	[icabod] - 20/07/2000 @995

	When is a door not a door?
	When it's MS Doors, the Spectrum file-system from Ascendancy Creative Labs. I've mentioned this before in a previous post, and now I have a "preview" copy, courtesy of Yerzmyey. It's not exactly a working filesystem, but you can get the general gist of things with it. I've plopped it into a TRDOS image (as I can't be bothered with conversions this late at night), which you can download here. To try it out, load up a TRDOS-able emulator (I use RealSpectrum), select Pentagon mode, go to TR-DOS, and type in LOAD "D2K:LAST". Should run nicely for ya.
	[icabod] - 20/07/2000 @975

	Any chance of a FAQ?
	Just seen that the CSS FAQ has changed residence. It's moved from it's previous home at Demon, to a site of academia, at the University of Cambridge. Although there's not been an update to the information in the FAQ, it's worth knowing that it's moved. The new URL is http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/~pak/cssfaq/index.html, so go update your bookmark!
	[icabod] - 19/07/2000 @895

	1..2..3..4ever
	Got a note from Davide Barlotti earlier today to point out that his site, Speccy4Ever is back up'n'running. There's a whole bunch of ROMs here, although suspiciously still no MB02's. Hmm.
	[icabod] - 19/07/2000 @890

	Does what it says on the tin
	Well, there's nothing particularly spectacular in the news today, but there's a couple things worth a little post: First up is a neat little webpage titled, simply, Sinclair Tech Info Library. It's essentially a list of documents and resources covering various aspects of SpecTech, from Manuals and ROMs, to PCB layouts and machine FAQs. Definately worth bookmarking. This link was from Davide Barlotti on the ZX_Spectrum@egroups.com list. Next, there's an update at WOS about a new plugin for the FAR-manager. This plugin, from HalfElf is for BetaDisks, and adds support for IS-DOS format disks/images. and finally, the day after I do a post on the SEMulator, it jumps up a version, resting at 0.31. Doesn't look like much has changed, just fixes for a couple dodgy snapshots. Oh, and one other note... I've still not seen anything about the 2 Alternative party. Anyone have any news? Okay, so there's actually some good stuff, but why not, eh?!
	[icabod] - 18/07/2000 @970

	Didn't see that one coming
	Well, it's about time one of the emulators was updated (note: I actually wrote this post before the one below!). This time it's the turn of Z80 Stealth, with a list of new features as long as your arm: AY Emulation improved 88KHz 16bit stereo sound supported on ESS soundcards, giving high quality sound emulation Additional video-modes (VESA 2.0 supported) Custom palettes (!!) Various TRDOS features (save diskimage, default bootfiles, etc) MIC output emulation through the line-out of your soundcard (for saving to tape) Rip AY tunes with 100% accuracy And there's a heap more that I'm not covering. So shoot on over to the homepage and grab the latest version.
	[icabod] - 17/07/2000 @955

	SEMulator
	Spotted an update on WOS yesterday (seems like Martijn is back from his hols), noting the release of another emulator, SEM by Alexander Patrakov. I've not seen this one before, but there looks to have been quite a few releases, with the latest version being 0.30. It only emulates a 48k model now, but has a couple neat features like Image Smoothing, and even an Undo (meaning you can skip back in time in the emulation). It's available for win32, so this could be one to watch.
	[icabod] - 17/07/2000 @950

	Photoshop for the Spectrum?
	Well, not quite. But I spotted a post over on X-Agon's Message Board from Tigers Claw. Seems he's mastered the art of converting 24bit bitmaps into Spectrum screen$, complete with full-colour ATTRs. And what's more, it's all in a tidy little app, available from WOS. Of course, it won't be sorted in the archive for a while yet, due to Martijn being away. I'm not sure what the state-of-play is with grabbing things from the "uploads" directory (assuming that's where it is), but pop on over there and try to find it. Needs Direct-X 7.0, but that's no big problem.
	[icabod] - 15/07/2000 @595

	Grinnits?!
	Just a few notes tonight. So... Pol of Phantasy sends word that the Beerever page has been updated. The change? It now works with Netscape. See, we're not alone here ;] I'm just about to add another links section on the right column, this time pointing to a few non-Speccy-specific demoscene pages. Hopefully these should be of some use to us all, providing news on parties, etc. Most of the content seems PeeCee-centric on these sites, with some mention of other platforms. Although they've eventually got to acknowledge the Spec-scene (rather than assuming the demoscene stops at the C64). On the site-front, I've also renamed the archived news section, meaning that you should hopefully be able to link to specific (archived) post if the need arises. Until I change the site-design, that is <g> Finally, ROMs. I mentioned in a previous post a couple sites where you can download ROMs of various Spectrum models and addon boards. Well, both of the mentioned sites are down. Or at least, the ROMs are now unavailable. Thankfully LaesQ pointed me to another site, maintained by the lovely Philip Kendall. It forms part of his homepage, and includes a useful section on Copyright (making me wonder if that's why the other sites lost the ROMs). Right, I've got some urgent food to eat. Lataz.
	[icabod] - 12/07/2000 @885

	Nice FX
	Just spotted an update over at Demotopia, this time adding a few demos. There's only four in this update, three of them being TR-DOS conversions from 1995. But there's a new demo by Alex Art, going by the title Art FX. Go add them to your download list.
	[icabod] - 11/07/2000 @900

	Demo or Die
	The title says it all, again. Got a url-submission for a Russian demosite, Demo or Die. Another "child-of-da.ru", it describes itself as a "magazine for demomakers", and who am I to argue. It's all in Russian (erk!) but using the power of translation, I'm sure you can get something out of it ;] From what I can see, it's kinda like the age-old PeeCee scene-zine, Demonews. Articles in there at the moment include details on Phat 0 (in English <g>), and a "Bump-maps'n'chunks" tutorial. Go check it! On another note, the 2 Alternative party has finished, but as of yet there's been no site update. I'll keep ya posted.
	[icabod] - 11/07/2000 @840

	Looks like a storm a'comin'
	Late last night LaesQ hinted at an update over at Raww Arse Archive... really! I know, it's been, like, 3 months, but now there's something new to grab! Pop on over there and you can find 3 "new" utilities. First up are a couple tools for the MB02-users out there (with me soon to join the ranks): PlusD-to-MB02 Converter; and TornadoX Assembler. One of these is obvious. But TornadoX is a mod of the +D version, but with the disk functions replaced by MB02 eXtensions. For those without an MB02, it can still be used with tape-systems, so go check it out. Also on the site is an update/crack of SQ-Tracker. This version adds support for a mouse on the kempston port of ya machine. Again, it's MB02-specific, but should be easy to mod for any system. Nice work Laesq :]
	[icabod] - 11/07/2000 @830

	Hip Hip HooRAR
	Short post today as I'm sitting here with a sore head (and possible concussion, no doubt) after being hit by a flying metal pole (that's as in length of metal, not Death-Metal-Yerzmyey <g>). But I'm grimacing through the pain (d'you think my boss will fall for this tomorrow?) to bring you some news from speccy.scenews. To save me the hassle, here's a cut-n-paste, courtesy of Random: " And now... another thing that many people thought would be impossible to do on Spectrum... almighty UNRAR! It's only in early beta, but already functional (with few limitations). Try and see for yourself - download it here. " So, unRAR on the Spectrum! Should be good news for anyone needing those few extra bytes to fit in the last effect in a demo. There's also news of a new game and OS, so check the full post. Have fun, I'm going to lie down.
	[icabod] - 09/07/2000 @880

	Beerever
	The name of the party is so good, I didn't bother thinking up a headline <g> If you skip over to the Beerever site, you can find a few photos from the party. Highlights include, uhm... well, lots of drunk people, basically. Go check it out, but use Internet Explorer, as the tables seem a bit... dodgy. More party-news is that this weekend sees 2 Alternative being held in Finland. I'll let you know any info about the party as I find it.
	[icabod] - 08/07/2000 @660

	Back in the real world...
	Well, I'd planned to do some single posts for these, but like the last few, I'm going to shove them all into a single "Blah!": There's been a few updates at Chaosite. First off is a request for CC000 t-shirt designs. The best design gets a copy of the final t-shirt. The main guideline is that it's to be black-and-white only. So get out your easels (oo-er). Also CC000-based, Random has put up a link to a list of places to stay in St.Petersburg if you're going to the party. Moving sections, we flip over to the anodyne-infested (<g>) speccy.scenews to find that BornDead issue #10 has been released. You can grab it by clicking here. Also listed there is the homepage of Spectrum-group Jupiter 77. I've not had a chance to really check it out, but they have some demos and a few useful utilities for download. Lastly (for now), Spectrum SE has been updated. Anodyne also mentions this on speccy.scenews, and pointed out some oddness: namely the reduction of RAM (to 256k), and the removal of video-mode details. However, some of the other changes look quite good, including compatibility with the ZS Scorpion 256 (CPU Speed and memory management), a TR-DOS ROM, with support for the +3 interface, and... well, the way this is going I should have made it a separate post. Just go find out the goodies for yourself. Hmm. That's it for now.
	[icabod] - 07/07/2000 @870